Time is precious

By Loretta Bruchet

Time was passing and darkness was rounding out the summer evening. Rain had been falling soft and steady for several hours. The highway was glistening in the light of the full moon. Home was getting closer and Marian knew it wouldn’t be long until she could soak in the warmth of a hot bath contemplating the memories of her long journey.

As her vehicle followed the winding road, suddenly she realized something was ahead in the darkness. “What is it?” she thought as she braked and tried to keep her vehicle steady on the slippery pavement. She realized a large stag was standing in the middle of the lane and as she swerved to miss him, the car swung out of control. The car careened to the other side of the road, traveled up the embankment, and then rolled back down at a fast pace, this time rolling over and over across the road and down the descending embankment on the right side of what had been her lane. Finally, the car came to rest against a group of trees.

It took a few minutes for the sounds of screeching tires and twisting metal to come to a stop. It was an eerie, quiet solitude. Only the soft splat of rain could be heard as it continued to land on the broken windshield and the roof of the car. Marian sat there dumbfounded and in wonderment that something like this could happen so quickly. In a split second she went from driving to rolling around as though she was on a fast roller coaster.

“Am I okay?” Marian thought. “I seem to be able to move.” As she attempted to remove herself from the vehicle she remarked to herself, “That was pretty easy, I am very lucky.” She stood outside the car looking up at the steep embankment. There was a light at the top of the highway and people looking down at her. “Thank goodness, they know I am here!” She called out to them but the rain was coming down harder and drowned out her voice. The embankment was muddy and slippery and there was no way she would manage to climb. She heard voices shouting from the top of the hill and the faint sound of sirens approaching in the dark night. As she looked up, she noticed the brightness of the light had intensified and was difficult to look at but she could feel herself being drawn towards it. Suddenly Marian realized she was drifting above her vehicle. “What’s happening to me?” she wondered. “I don’t understand. I’m not delirious. I’m alright. I’m sure I’m alright. If only they could see me down here, they would know that I’m alright,” she thought. But they couldn’t see her. They could only see the twisted wreckage and could barely make out the dark silhouette of her limp body inside the car.

* * * * * * * * *

The above story was a dream I had a few years ago. A dream that, in reality, was more like a nightmare. One that awoke me with such a profound force. I bolted upright and was surprised to find myself in bed and not at the scene of the accident. It was so vivid and real. With my heart racing, I just sat there in the darkness trying to make sense of it. For several days and nights it haunted me. About the fourth day it came to me that if I wrote it down, perhaps I would have some peace. I typed out the incident the same way it took place in my dream and then filed it away in my computer. Eventually it faded from my memory.

When I read the notice in the bulletin requesting stories for the website, this nightmare jolted like a bullet to the forefront of my memories and I was stunned to realize that I had forgotten all about it. It began to dawn on me there was a reason I saved the story of the nightmare and now I have a better understanding. The Holy Spirit was working through me and I became so humbled I began to cry. I prayed and asked Him for guidance and knew that now was the time to share this story. When I located the story in my computer and read it again, I realized the power of this nightmare. Time is so precious and I need to make the best use of mine. Every minute is a gift. I questioned myself on how I was using my time. Was I spending too much of it with electronics? Sweating the small things? Wasting it feeling sorry for myself when things aren’t going my way?

I pondered for a long while and came to realize Jesus still has many things for me to do. I reminded myself, or perhaps He was reminding me, I am called to be His disciple. To serve Him faithfully. I need to pray more often to the Holy Spirit for discernment, for guidance, for the willingness to be open to His calling and to allow Him to lead me.

I am very thankful for this humbling experience and for this huge awakening in my life. I will continue to pray for more opportunities to be a humble servant. When my time comes and Jesus calls me home, I want to be sure I tried very hard to make the best use of my precious time.

Time is precious...use it wisely.....will you be ready when your time runs out?